Ice castles
by Ebonyswanne
Summary: Romance Challenge from Gatchamania; Condor and Swan are in a frozen wasteland, stuck down in a cave with sheer sides.
1. Chapter 1

Princess had never in her life felt so cold and miserable, and angry all at the same time. Her numb fingers couldn't throw a yo-yo at that moment even if it was to save her own life!

She tried to look up but the icy wind was chilling her right through her Birdstyle to her bones. She stumbled just a little in the snow and almost lost her footing even in snow that almost reached the top of her boots.

"Arrggghhh, that damn bloody Condor!" She cursed under her breath as she held her arms close to her body to keep them from freezing, she never spoke like that in her life but it made her feel a little better just to let it out.

"Prin, there has to somewhere around here that we can find some shelter until the morning, the sun has to be setting about now." Jason yelled out over the icy wind.

She stole a glance into the sky that seemed to blend into the icy wasteland making it neither dark nor light - it was just murky and miserable.

How could tell she wondered as she tried to pull her mantle in closer but it wouldn't move.

She heard Jason stumble and curse very loud, she cringe internally and felt a small twang of guilt that she should have warned him about that spot.

But really it was his entire fault they were stuck in this wasteland to start with, so he should be made to suffer just as much as she was.

She was very mad at him for disobeying Marks order that got them both captured by Spectra and taken to a secret base.

Okay, he managed to get them out and they blew the place up big time, even though they failed to make contact with the rest of the team…she was still trying to figure out how even the birdscramble signal got jammed.

Then when they got out of the base they found themselves here…

She stopped and looked at him with a scold on her face, he was still cursing about something.

"Jason there's nothing here…" She yelled in frustration. "I'll try and contact them again."

But there was only static, and the birdscramble didn't seem to be getting them any response either from what she could tell, and it was suppose to work under any circumstances.

"Nothing…" she sighed, this was going from very bad to extremely worse, they could freeze and no one would ever find their bodies in this icy wasteland….Princess pushed that train of thought from her mind.

"Princess wait up will ya!" Jason called out as she watched him struggle in the snow. With her lips drawn in a straight line she ignored him, and she tried to run ahead of him through the snow. Still gripping her frozen hands to her body, she was sure her fingers had frost bit from how numb they were feeling.

Her mind was beginning to wonder at the other things that were bugging and deep down Mark was one of them. It was only two months ago Mark told her he couldn't have a relationship with her because the sparks just we're there for him. Not that anything got started in the first place anyway between them.

Until that moment she'd had a hope of maybe going out on a date at least since the messages he always sent her on their secret line told he thought other wise.

A few hours later in a moment of hurt and humiliation she shut off the secret communication line she had with him, burst into uncontrollable tears and threw herself onto her bed.

Jason came and stood in the door way, silently he walked over and sat on the edge of her bed and took her into his arms, not saying a word he just held her close.

How did Jason always know what to do? He could be such a jerk at times but then sometimes she he showed a side of him that made her wonder if it was all just a cover up.

Then she found out Mark was seeing Amanda a week later…

Jason looked guilty when she confronted him about it, since he was Marks closest friend she figured he helped Mark meet up with her as a civilian at a race she saw Amanda at recently with her father.

"Prin a few of the guys are going out to celebrate, do you wanna come? I know you'll have a good time…" Jason invited in his reserved demeanour and his arms folded after she almost lost it again when she saw Mark holding hands with Amanda after a race Jason had just won she knew he was just to trying to help her deal with it.

After that night she wasn't exactly thrilled about his way of dealing with emotional issues leaving her only feeling confused about him.

"Prin…Swan Princess will you _stop _walking." Jason commanded as she still stormed on ahead.

She let out a long breath, and she decided to stand still and wait for him."Jerk!" She grumbled loudly _this_ time she hoped he heard her.

Then something happened.


	2. Chapter 2

The ground began to give way from under her feet, and she began to fall before she could even call out or grip the sides of the place she was falling into.

Princess tried to spread out her wings, but they wouldn't respond to her command, she couldn't feel her fingers as she tried ton find her Yo-yo…she felt the panic that was rising up through her as the momentum of her fall increased.

She felt something grab hold of her in mid air as she tried look up through her foggy visor…

"Hold onto me Princess." Jason instructed her as his wings spread out and they glided to the bottom of the endless hole.

Jason put her down after they landed on the floor of a cave."Prin…"He said as she looked up into his worried face.

"I…I…" She stuttered as she tried to get the words out and stand up." I'm…m…m oookkkaayy." She managed through chattering teeth.

"Yeah." Jason sarcastically smirked as he let a misty breath. "Sounds like it me Prin…" He looked into her eyes with an expression that she could tell was a mask, what was he hiding she wondered as he spoke sarcastically again. "I know you're still mad at me _darling_…Mark doesn't know everything."

Jason picked her up in his arms, and he began to walk, the place was pitch black all around them and she knew her cybernetics were keeping her from sliding into a long sleep. She didn't protest he as was very warm and she felt her body slowly defrosting if only just a little bit.

"Wow…" Jason sounded like he was in awe.

"W...what?" She asked she was only interested in a warm bath or a hot roaring fire place right now, but he just felt like all of those nice things as she drowsily looked up at an extraordinary huge cave.

"This place is beautiful…" He gasped a she tried to get out of his embrace to see why he was so awed.

Princess looked up to see them in an underground cave that had sheer clear ice walls around them, as she managed to get back onto her feet.

"Wow!" Princess gasped as she looked at the beautiful cave that had transparent walls and long icicles hanging and glistening with rainbow colours from the high ceiling like they belonged on a Christmas tree, the whole cavern lit up by light that was coming in through the sheer walls.

"This is so awesome…" she said just above a whisper as it echoed through the cave.

"We have one problem Prin..." Jason said still looking around the cave…" We have no way of getting out except back that way." He indicated to the passage they just came from.

"Yes I know…" She sighed as the light that came through the transparent walls made the room glow softly with a light bluish hue.

"That light has to come from somewhere…" She pointed out.

"Well if I break that wall…" Jason mused as he pulled out his cable gun- Princess reached out a frosty hand and stopped him.

"If you do that this whole cave could collapse in on us." She told him as he lowered the gun.

"Any bright ideas…G-3." He asked her leaning in close and he looked at her waited.

"I do have one." She offered sweetly." You stop acting without thinking…"

"Alright, Princess Swannie just get it out." Jason was irate as he put his gun away, and stood with his arms folded just as Princess was about to walk away from him.

She spun around with her lips drawn tight in anger." You and your reckless ways got us into this mess…" She started with her hands on her hips and lips pulled so tight they were going nub along with the rest of her.

"I just did what I had to do to stop Spectra…it was _Mark_ that got us into this mess." Jason looked like he was ready for a fight as he moved into her personal space.

"You disobeyed a direct order!" She said harshly." We were told to fall back and you went forward, so I had to go in and drag you out."

"I'm so happy that care about me so much." Jason's eyebrows came together as he started get that snarling expression on his face that gave him such a scary bad boy reputation.

She pointed an angry white gloved finger in his face. "Don't think you can intimidate me with that face…I know it's not the real you."

His grey eyes softened as his scold turned into a lop sided smile." You look so hot when you're angry."

That was too much for her to take. "Jason…don't go there."

"Why? Because I'm not _Mark_." His smile dropped and she watched as he put up his unusual unreadable mask.

"Don't bring Mark into this." Princess fumed." Since when did this argue go from the mission to something personal?" She threw her hands in the air and turned around and she began to walk down some icy looking 'stairs'.

Jason wasn't following her.

"The day you let me kiss you…and you kissed me back in a way." He hesitated. "And you asked me why _Mark_ didn't look at you that way straight afterwards." His voice had gone flat and unemotional. "Why, Prin…why?"

"You said it was an accident…we had too much to drink and it didn't mean anything to you..." She said annoyed that he brought up that night.

She felt something with him when he touched her that night, something very intense. It took her so much by surprise that she pulled away from him so hasty, but if it continued…

"So did you take notes and compare us…" Jason continued to push as he started to follow her down the stairs.

She looked back over her shoulder and into his face- his feelings were still hidden from her from his blank expression and guarded black eyes under his blue visor.

"For you information the only kiss I ever got from _Mark_ was on the _cheek_…What makes you _think_ I'm one that kind of girl that plays men of each other like they were playthings or a groupie that follows Jason the bad boy around like a lost puppy-" She felt like slapping Jason for what he was implying.

"I didn't say that Princess." Jason's tone was completely calm and it threw her off balance." I have never thought of you like that, but with Mark sitting in a booth close by with his new girlfriend it was the perfect opportunity for you to make him see what he was missing out on."

She hated being reminded of that, but it wasn't why Jason kissed her. "_You_ kissed _me _if I _remember _that moment correctly." They were on the dance floor, and he just grabbed a hold of her, pulled her in roughly into his arms and kissed her, her back arched from the intensity of his embrace, his tongue searched her mouth, he murmured her name like he was her lover.

She felt his lips on hers for days after…


	3. Chapter 3

The look on Marks face was priceless from the glace she got when she broke apart from Jason.

It was like he saw Princess in a whole new light from the shocked blued eyed expression on his face. But Amanda wasn't blind and she got up from the booth at Jill's pulling Mark along with her.

"Opportunity for what Jason? I never said I wanted to make him jealous." Her voice dropped an octave because it was the truth. She wasn't drunk that night, but Jason was, she could taste the salty Tequila on his breath but she found it such a turn on and how he messed up her hair during that kiss and left her feeling like a rag doll afterwards.

Jason looked like he paled under his visor, and he seemed to close up by folding his arms in his usual manner and pulling his blue mantle in close. Rearranging his ruggedly handsome features he walked down the stairs past her without a glance.

"We should look at finding a way out of here…" He stated soberly as he moved ahead, with her eyes watching his back.

Princess had thought about Jason often since then, she had caught him looking at her but he would brush it off as nothing, he would simply look away, or make some smart ass remark to Mark instead and then completely ignore her.

Mark however over the past week had begun to pay her lots of attention and that was confusing for her even more since he now had a girlfriend,

She had begun to wonder about Marks ideas and after he had said a relationship would interfere with his devotion to duty and then he goes and starts dating Amanda?

"Has Mark asked you out on a date yet?" Jason broke into her thoughts while he was walking further into the cave.

"He has a girlfriend Jason…did you forget that?" She reminded him.

"Not now, he broke up with her two weeks ago…Duty calls." Jason hit the clear wall of ice with a fist but he still didn't turn to face her.

Princess didn't know what to say to that, at one point she would have been filled with happiness and that he would turn to her if that was the case, but she didn't just want to be the alternative for him.

Mark hadn't said a thing about it, and she felt nothing inside her at that news, not like she felt she would anyway.

Princess went to talk but nothing came out, why didn't feel some joy at Mark being single again?

Finally she managed to say something. "Well he hasn't said anything to me….besides, maybe I don't feel an attraction to him any more." She stood there waiting for Jason to turn around and look at her.

The truth was now staring her in the face, the real reason she looked at Mark as more than a friend. Why didn't she see it before?

She was so blind. "I realized it was because the media kept pairing us up…he doesn't understand me really, like you do." She meant ever word- Mark never came and showed her affection the way Jason did. The only time she went to him when she when something was bothering her he tried just solve the problem instead of listening to her. After that she always sought out Jason.

Tears stung her eyes from the emotions that were welling up inside of her for him- she had to distract herself from them. "Well I'm going to have a look around this place." Princess walked away from him, her heart was pounding at a rapid rate of knots.

Jason could be like a closed to book to those who didn't know him, and right now she felt the cover lift to show her a man that cared deeply for her.

His reaction told her it affected him the way Mark was hot and cold towards her all the time. But now an understanding was surfacing as to why he could be so hot headed towards him.

Jason was attracted to her, and she was just as attracted to him, the chemistry between them right now was sending her head into a spin.


	4. Chapter 4

The Cavern seemed to have some small 'rooms' she found as she looked around, and in one of them she found a large chest full of fur lined blankets. That's strange, she thought, why is this here?

Shaking her head she pulled fur lined blankets since she was still freezing cold, but now she wasn't sure if her numbness was from the cold or the emotions she was trying hold back.

Princess decided to go and find Jason.

The cavern wasn't enormous in length but it had lots of levels to it, and she found him perched up on shelf looking solemn and in deep thought.

"Jason." She called to him, but he only looked up from his deep thinking.

"Jason…" she said again this time she dropped the fur rugs, dizziness over came her as she began to shiver and white and black flashes went before her eyes, the last thing she saw was Jason jumping from the ledge.

Princess woke up wrapped up in a fur blanket in a small cosy space with her helmet and mantle removed and Jason snuggled up close to her body.

She hadn't noticed how soft his caramel brown hair was as it brushed her face, he moved slightly.

She felt something and realized he was holding her so close, her body was half on top of his, and the Condor was sleeping…

She stared at his ruggedly handsome face for a moment.

Jason was always the one she turned to when she needed someone to talk to, and he never turned her away.

Princess remembered a time when Mark badly reprimanded her in private about losing her shoe, even after she found it and the mission was turned into a success.

So why was it that she was always trying to please Mark, and turning to Jason when it all became too much?

Because he listened without judging her, he listened…and knew without asking what she needed from him, and he gave it to her willingly.

It was dawning on her now why he was such a rebel towards Mark, it was because of _her._

But why did it take so long for her to see it, the way he would look at her knowing she had feelings for Mark…it must have cut him to the core.

But how did she really feel about the both of them? Princess asked herself.

Mark was looked upon as a hero, the man behind the blue visor that led the most formidable team in the universe. Women swooned over him, and the media would write reports of an unspoken romance between the Swan and the Eagle that appealed to her romantic nature and set her imagination going from his smooth good looks and startling blue eyes. Princess had found herself caught up in the fairytale that other people wanted, and what she thought she wanted.

Jason moved slightly towards her.

"Princess…don't die, I can't live without you." He mumbled in his sleep, and he pulled her closer to him.

The coldness she had been feeling began to leave her body as she realized the man she wanted to be with was holding her in his arms and she had been denying the chemistry that lay between them to follow an ideal, not what was real.

He understood her in a way Mark never could.

"Jason, I can't live without you either." She whispered into his hair.

The sound of her voice woke him up. "Prin?" His sleepy grey eyes questioned her.

She gave him a warm smile. "You just told me you couldn't live without me in your sleep." She nuzzled closer to him.

"Prin, I…" Jason started but she put a finger to his lips.

"I know, I think I have always known." She said in a hushed tone as she watched emotions flint across his eyes.

"You do?" He looked breathless as he waited and took her finger into his lips as he pulled off her glove, he ran the palm of his hand down her arm and followed the contours of her body to her thigh.

His touch sent wonderful sensations through her body.

"Kiss me again." She softly pulled his face towards her, without saying anything he did as she asked.

The sensations she felt this time were stronger than ever before with whole body pressed against her, he pulled her on top of him as the kiss deepened, the warmth of his mouth flooded through her whole being setting her senses on fire, she moaned and he pulled away from her.

He just stared into her eyes breathless as she stared back at his dilated black pupils and moist lips.

"Princess…" He spoke her name like she truly was royalty.

She pressed her face into his chest, her long black hair spilled out around him, she looked up slightly. "I _want_ to be with _you_ Jason so much… It took me to long to realize how much I love you."

"You love me." He spoke the words like it was music to his ears and he gave her the first real smile she had ever seen on his face, if she thought he was handsome before…

"Yes Jason… I built Ice castles in my mind as what it was that I wanted- you melted them down to show me the paradise I was missing because I was so blinded by it."

"Me too, every time you smile at me like you are now…I have been in love with you since the day we met, but then I saw how you looked at Mark and it drove me crazy." He confessed. "That guy must have rock in his head."

"This smile is just for you," She told him as she ran her fingers caressed his face. "Lucky for me Mark does ignore me, or I would have missed out on being with someone who really loves me." Princess gave him the special warm smile now that she reserved just for Jason, as she moved up closer to his face again, Jason returned her affection. She watched as he let down his guard totally and he lightly kissed her lips this time, even that sent warm shivers down her spine.

With a small smile on his face Jason pulled her tightly into his embrace and kissed her deeply again.

He messed up her hair with the vigour of his passion for her as they rolled under the fur blanket.

Her fingers undid his belt- it just seemed like the most natural thing to do as his hand went under her skirt. She felt this fingers fiddle with her panties and the whole of his hand went under the light fabric as he caressed her buttocks.

"Oh Jason," She moaned, her heart was racing as he kissed her neck and pulled down her panties.

"Prin…I want you so badly." His fervour for her increased with every touch she made on his exposed bare skin just under his Birdstyle.

"Sven I left some extra supplies down here." The deep Scandinavian voice brought them out of the moment.

Both Princess and Jason looked at each other with apprehensive expressions.

Did they stumble onto another Spectran base? She was thinking as they scrambled to get dressed again, Jason was doing some kind of weird dance since she turned him on that much he was trying to get back into his protective cup.

The voices were getting closer…

This place is really taking off…" The other more feminine voice was saying with some excitement.

"We should transmute before they get here." Jason whispered as she jammed on her helmet.

"Good plan they won't know we're G-Force then and we can find out more." She acknowledged as she put her arm in front of her face, Jason did the same. "_Transmute."_

They did it just in just in time to see two people were uniforms but they weren't Spectran.

"Sven, I didn't know guests could get in here." The petite young blonde woman took on a distressed expression as her jaw moved with no words coming out, and she turned to look at Sven.

"Darling," Princess purred as she battered her long dark eyelashes at Jason." I think out plan for adventure has just been foiled."

He leaned in close to her ear." Sweet heart when you look at me like that it just makes mw want to ravish your body." He casually pulled her close to him as she giggled lightly.

"Promise?" She flirted with him as the two people standing not to far away from them relaxed.

"Guests of this resort are not allowed down in here." Sven pointed out politely.

"Why not, this is such a lovely room." Princess pointed out to them as she looked around with innocent wide eyes.

"Resort?" Jason quickly quizzed her as he whispered in her ear.

"Play along." She whispered back and turned her most radiant smile on the two Scandinavians. "We know we have been naughty…oooppss!" She gave them her best air head expression and Jason choked on his comeback.

"Birgit, I think we should show them back to the main resort…" Sven indicated with an open hand and he smiled at the two young lover birds.


	5. Chapter 5

"This is a fascinating place don't you think." Birgit polity escorted them back up another set of stairs.

"I have to admit we wondered when our helicopter dropped us off a while ago to find that they couldn't find our booking." Princess was laying on the innocence.

"Anything my love bunny wants she gets." Jason said as he pinched her bottom as she gave him a playful reprimand for it.

"I'm sure we can sort this out for you both…" Sven sounded apologetic now they had been walking upwards for sometime before Sven opened a door that lead into a bar.

Princess put her hand to her mouth in surprise at the beautiful resort.

Birgit gave them a smile filled with pride as she began her tour." Mr Bond a millionaire who likes to entertain built this at the beginning of winter. He loved the place so much he opened it up for people who could afford to come and stay. No expense was spared for to make this ice palace a place you would never want to leave. But I'm sure you know all that from the brochure."

Princess gathered herself in and nodded like she knew it already along with Jason.

"Mr…" Sven hesitated, and he politely waited for Jason to respond.

"Jason Maxwell." He filled the man in.

"Mr. Maxwell, if you would follow me I'll fix up your booking." Sven indicated.

Princess wondered where he got that last name from- she couldn't help watch his cute bottom as he walked away with Sven.

"Madam you can wait at the bar if you like. Mikhail will give you a cocktail while you wait for your husband, but then all is included in the cost…" Birgit lead Princess over to the softly blue lit bar and she took a seat, ordered a Mudslide from the cocktail list.

"Princess!" She heard Marks surprised voice as she waited for Jason.

"Mark." Turned to see him walking towards her across the room.

"We've been looking all over this place for you and Jason, since this is where the birdscramble that finally came through lead us too." He pulled up a seat beside her just as the Mikhail brought over her drink.

She scanned the room- over in the corner Tiny had a plate full of space burgers with Keyop trying to steal one.

"Oh…well…I knew you would find us." She managed to give him a smile- she was suddenly disappointed that they had been found.

Marks face filled with concern and his blue eyes became serious, Princess prepared herself for a lecture from him and questioning on Jason's where bouts.

"Princess I was so worried about you." Mark put a hand on her arm. "I need to tell you something, it's been on my mind for some time now."

She raised an eyebrow and waited.

"This is hard for me…but Princess I realized that it's you I want to be with. I was in denial for so long I ran away from you thinking it would interfere with the teams dynamics," He was almost pleading which was not like Mark." I missed talking to you through our secret channel." He was looking like a lost puppy with big blue eyes.

"Mark…" She returned his serious expression, she felt sorry for him now. "To tell you truth, I realized that the sparks just aren't there for me either, you did the right thing when you told me it wasn't right."

She spotted Jason across the room and saw the alarm briefly on his face, but she gave him her special smile and he relaxed.

She turned back to look into shocked face, as he tried to find words."Princess, please just give me a chance I made a mistake."

Princess shook her head and looked away from him." No Mark, it's just not going to ever happen between us."

"Jason, you can't be serious, he kissed you just to make me jealous!" He looked at his second for a minute as he tried to make her see the light.

Princess, could only feel pity for him now,"I do love you Mark, as I would a brother. Jason understands me in way you never could." She winked at Jason, and she moved away from Mark.

"Mark, I think Jason and I will have few days rest here to recover from the mission. He's so sweet that's why I love him so much." She gave Mark a sympathetic smile as his jaw dropped to the floor- she almost ran over and jumped into Jason's arms. Some unspoken communication passed between the two men as their eyes met. She wondered if Mark had asked him if anything was really going on between them, well now there was and looked up at the man she loved.

"The federation are so nice to us." Jason's grey eyes filled with mischief." They even shouted us a room for a week to rest and recover. The honeymoon suite no less."

Princess truly felt complete now, and happiness filled her as she gazed into his eyes. "I believe you and I have unfinished business." She purred as she watched the knowing smile spread across his face.

"You bet we do. We should practise for the future." He hinted as he leaned in and gave her a light kiss on the lips with Mark, Tiny and Keyop watching them in amazement. "Did you know that name of this resort is "Ice Castle!"

This brought a smile to her face. "How appropriate…" She nuzzled his shoulder affectionately- she wanted to see more of this side of him that kept guarded from the world.

Jason wasn't afraid to show her he how much he loved her in public, and she knew he would not abandon her for team dynamics and duty. She could feel the intensity of his love for her as he closed the space between them pulling her into his arms and holding her tight, together they would stand against Spectra and one day that dream would happen for them.

Princess could see a future with Jason as he took her hand in his and lead her down the hall to the room this was only the beginning for them, and she intended to enjoy every minute of it…


End file.
